Kindness is Contagious: Finding the angels among us

Do you believe in angels? My husband and I go around and around on whether ghosts exist, but he won’t even touch the angel issue. I do believe in angels, so I think my practical husband is a little worried that if he comes out as a non-believer, they may stop watching over him.

Angels or not, I know for a fact there are people here on Earth, right here in our community, who are acting as angels.

A few weeks ago, a young mom I know posted a story on Facebook about having a terrible morning. She is trying to manage work, school and a baby, and some days it feels like the juggling act turns into a full-out circus.

On that particularly stressful morning, she pulled up to the Starbucks drive-thru and found the person in front of her had already paid for her drink. She said her entire outlook for the day changed in an instant. Shockingly, when I called her to ask if I could write about it for this column, she said it had just happened again. It’s too bad the Starbucks Bandit (or bandits) may never know how special those free coffees made her feel.

A woman named Kimberly was so touched by an angel of kindness she emailed me to ask me to thank the woman for her.

“Dear Nicole, I have to tell you a story that happened to my family today. I was shopping at Dakota Boys and Girls Ranch in Fargo with my 13-year-old daughter, my 9-year-old son and my mom. I was buying my mom an outfit for church for Christmas Eve.

After we found her a beautiful outfit, we headed to the books section of the store. A woman that I didn’t know approached us. She explained how God had told her to give each of my children $10 for Christmas and asked if I was OK with that.

I was hesitant at first because my children have more than they could ever ask for. In fact, my daughter loves donating her money to charities. I also love to give to those in need. I then realized that you can’t argue with God and accepted her gift. Before my children could thank her, she was gone and nowhere to be found.

Thank you to the woman who gave my children the gift of receiving so they learn to pay it forward, help others and to listen when God speaks. Bless You!”

I think it’s quite possible those children will remember that woman’s act of kindness for a very long time.

I recently got a letter from a woman in Fargo who still remembers the kindness shared with her nearly 15 years ago.

“I decided to go to a Saturday matinee at Century 10 Theater. The young woman selling tickets said, ‘Your show has been paid for.’ Apparently, two women ahead of me paid for a ticket for the next person choosing that particular movie. The ticket seller pointed them out at the concession stand, so I could talk to them.

They said they were Sunday school teachers and wanted to perform a random act of kindness before Sunday school the next day. They were mildly disappointed that their act didn’t remain anonymous; however, I was thrilled to meet them.

What a wonderful feeling to have something as easy as a free movie so lovingly provided by two strangers. The movie may not have had the best story line, actors or music, but to this day, more than 14 years later, whenever I hear the names of the actors or hear a song from that movie, I remember that feeling and I smile.

It was the starting point of my own ‘paying it forward,’ and when I am able, I try to pass on an act of kindness to others.”

Thank you to all of the people in the Fargo-Moorhead area who are going out of their way to prove angels exists and that kindness is indeed contagious.

Nicole Phillips is a former television anchor for Fox News in Fargo, and currently the Executive Director of Diva Connection Foundation. She is the mother of three kids and the wife of Bison Men’s Head Basketball Coach Saul Phillips. Her columns run every Saturday.